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28-498: Hakodate airport opened in 1961 with a single, 1,200-meter runway. A new terminal upgrade and runway extension to 2,000 m became operational in 1971. The runway was extended further to 2,500 m in 1978 and to 3,000 m in 1999. A new terminal building opened in 2005. On September 6, 1976, Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected to the West by landing a MiG-25 Foxbat aircraft at Hakodate Airport. On June 21, 1995, All Nippon Airways Flight 857 ,

56-476: A trust fund was set up for him, which granted him a very comfortable living in later years. The US government debriefed him for five months after his defection and employed him as a consultant for several years thereafter. Belenko had brought with him the pilot's manual for the MiG-25 since he expected to assist US pilots in evaluating and testing the aircraft. Belenko was not the only pilot to have defected from

84-746: A US air base in South Korea; the MiG is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force , displayed in its original owner markings. Later, Soviet Captain Aleksandr Zuyev flew his MiG-29 to Trabzon , Turkey, on 20 May 1989. That MiG-29 was promptly returned to the Soviets. The MiG-25's arrival in Japan was a windfall for Western military planners. The Japanese government had originally allowed

112-438: A problem. He returned to the airplane and confronted Zuyev. Zuyev tried to disarm the mechanic, but failed, shot him with a pistol and wounded him. Zuyev was wounded in the right arm. The aircraft were almost ready and Zuyev took off in one. After takeoff, he had planned to shoot other aircraft on the ground, but failed because he forgot to remove one of the two locks on the gun. He then flew 240 km (150 mi) south across

140-484: A scheduled Boeing 747 flight from Tokyo to Hakodate, was hijacked by Fumio Kutsumi, a Tokyo bank employee armed with a screwdriver. Kutsumi claimed to be acting on behalf of Aum Shinrikyo cult group leader Shoko Asahara . The aircraft landed in Hakodate and stayed on the runway overnight for 15 hours before riot police stormed the aircraft at dawn and freed the passengers. Scheduled buses operate to Hakodate Station and

168-418: A son from his first marriage, never divorced his first wife, and never provided child support to her after his defection, but Belenko denied this. The journalists also claimed that his Soviet wife appealed for his return after his defection. Belenko co-wrote a 1980 autobiography, MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lieutenant Belenko with Reader's Digest writer John Barron , which confirmed that he had

196-616: A wife and son in the USSR, although Belenko had previously told his son that this was Soviet propaganda. Belenko almost never appeared in interviews during his life in the United States . He feared for his life until the day he died. However, in a brief and informal bar interview in 2000, he said that he was happy in the United States, remarking, "[Americans] have tolerance regarding other people's opinion. In certain cultures, if you do not accept

224-594: Is likely to be transacted, and because the USSR, with its political standing in Tokyo so low, can ill-afford setbacks in Soviet–Japanese economic cooperation." Belenko started a new life in the United States. In 1980, the US Congress enacted S. 2961, authorizing citizenship for him, which was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on 14 October 1980, as Private Law 96-62. Eager to avoid attention, and reprisal from

252-415: Is survived by two sons and four grandchildren. However, journalists learned about his death only at the end of November. One of his sons told the newspaper that his father had died after a short illness. There was no memorial service. Aleksandr Zuyev (pilot) Aleksandr Mikhailovich Zuyev ( Russian : Александр Михайлович Зуев ; July 17, 1961 – June 10, 2001) was a Soviet pilot who defected to

280-667: The Director of Central Intelligence at the time, called the opportunity to examine the plane up close an "intelligence bonanza" for the West. Belenko later became a U.S. aerospace engineer . Belenko was born in Nalchik , Russian SFSR , in a Russian family (his passport states his ethnicity as Russian). Lieutenant Belenko was a pilot with the 513th Fighter Regiment, 11th Air Army , Soviet Air Defence Forces based in Chuguyevka , Primorsky Krai . On 6 September 1976, he successfully defected to

308-559: The West by flying his MiG-25 jet fighter to Hakodate Airport in Hokkaido , Japan. This was the first time that Western military intelligence were able to get a close look at the aircraft and its specifications, and many secrets and surprises were revealed. His defection caused significant damage to the Soviet Air Force . Belenko was granted asylum by U.S. President Gerald Ford , and

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336-619: The Black Sea to Trabzon, Turkey, where the aircraft was impounded. The plane Zuyev had flown was one that had been in storage, and shreds of tarpaulin were still hanging from parts of the plane after it landed. Turkish officials immediately agreed to a Soviet request to return the MiG-29, with a spokesman emphasising Ankara's wish to maintain good ties with the Soviet Union. A Soviet plane with technicians and apparently another pilot had been expected

364-558: The Onuma Prince Hotel . [REDACTED] Media related to Hakodate Airport at Wikimedia Commons Viktor Belenko Viktor Ivanovich Belenko ( Russian : Виктор Иванович Беленко ; February 15, 1947 – September 24, 2023) was a Russian-born American aerospace engineer and Soviet pilot who defected in 1976 to the West while flying his MiG-25 "Foxbat" jet interceptor and landed in Hakodate , Japan. George H. W. Bush ,

392-595: The Soviet Air Force from properly identifying the civilian aircraft before it was shot down. Zuyev was debriefed by USMC Aviation Lieutenant Harry Spies. According to Zuyev's biographical book "Fulcrum", Zuyev began working as a consultant for the CIA and Pentagon. Zuyev went on to assist the US detect the radars of MiG-29s during Operation Desert Storm. On June 10, 2001, Zuyev died along with another aviator, Jerry "Mike" Warren , in

420-433: The Soviet Union in this way or even the first to defect from a Soviet-bloc country. He might have been aware of the US government's policy of awarding large cash prizes to defecting pilots of communist countries. In March and May 1953, two Polish Air Force pilots Lieutenant Franciszek Jarecki and Lieutenant Zdzisław Jaźwiński flew MiG-15s to Denmark. Later in 1953, North Korean pilot No Kum Sok flew his MiG-15 to

448-586: The Soviet Union, he took the surname Schmidt and moved around often, mostly living in small towns across the Midwest. He worked as a consultant to aerospace companies and government agencies, and married a music teacher from North Dakota , Coral Garaas. They had two sons before divorcing. The Soviet Union repeatedly spread false stories about Belenko being killed in a car accident, returning to Russia , being arrested and executed, or otherwise brought to justice. Russian journalists claimed that Belenko allegedly also had

476-598: The Soviets finally submitted to the Japanese terms on 22 October 1976. The aircraft was moved from Hyakuri to the port of Hitachi on 11 November 1976 on a convoy of trailers. It left in 30 crates aboard the Soviet cargo ship Taigonos on 15 November 1976 and arrived about three days later in Vladivostok . A team of Soviet technicians had been allowed to view subassemblies at Hitachi, and upon finding 20 missing parts, one being film of

504-407: The United States to examine the plane and to conduct ground tests of the radar and engines only; however, it subsequently allowed the US to dismantle the plane to examine it extensively. The plane was moved by a US Air Force C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft from Hakodate to Hyakuri Air Base on 25 September, and by then, experts had determined that the plane was an interceptor, not a fighter-bomber, which

532-579: The United States where he settled in San Diego, California , and opened a consulting firm. Zuyev wrote a book titled Fulcrum: A Top Gun Pilot's Escape from the Soviet Empire ( ISBN   0-446-51648-1 ). Originally, Zuyev faced criminal charges such as hijacking in the Turkish courts, but the charges were dismissed for political reasons. The seven who ate the cake at Gudauta were seriously incapacitated from

560-509: The United States with his MiG-29 on May 20, 1989. Zuyev was an interceptor pilot with the VVS Frontal Aviation Regiment based at Mikha Tskhakaya, Georgian SSR (present day Senaki , Georgia ). The day before his defection, he baked a large cake, having mixed a large amount of sleeping pills in the batter. He then announced that his wife was pregnant with a boy, and invited the personnel in his regiment to celebrate. During

588-457: The flight to Hakodate, the Soviets attempted to charge Japan US $ 10 million. Neither the Japanese nor the Soviet bill is known to have been paid. A senior diplomat described the Soviet position as "sulky about the whole affair." The CIA concluded at the time that "both countries seem anxious to put the problem behind them" and speculated that the Soviets were reluctant to cancel a series of upcoming diplomatic visits because "some useful business

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616-402: The mainstream, you would be booted out or might disappear. Here we have people—you know, who hug trees, and people who want to cut them down—and they live side by side!" In this interview he also claimed that he visited Moscow but did not provide any evidence of his trip. Viktor Belenko died in a nursing home in the small town of Rosebud, Illinois on September 24, 2023, at the age of 76. He

644-425: The next day at Ankara, but it showed up later at Trabzon on the same day Zuyev arrived. Controllers refused to grant landing permission. The next afternoon, the Soviets were allowed to depart with the airplane, escorted out of Turkish airspace by Turkish Air Force jets. Zuyev's first words at the Turkish airfield were: "Finally, I - an American!" He underwent surgery for his wounds. He was allowed to immigrate to

672-420: The party, Zuyev handed each a slice, except for four people: the commander who was preparing a flight plan, two mechanics on guard duty, and a unit member who was expected to be at another base. When everyone was asleep, Zuyev cut the telephone lines, then approached the aircraft. The two sentries would not let him near the airplane. Zuyev returned and waited for some time past shift change time. The second shift

700-435: The sleeping pills and all had to be hospitalised. However, they all recovered. Aviation author Yefim Gordon in his 2007 book Mikoyan MiG-29 was sharply critical of Zuyev, referring to a prior suspension of Zuyev for poor discipline and that Zuyev's superiors were considering a dishonorable discharge. Gordon speculated that this is what spurred Zuyev into leaving the Soviet Union. On October 26, 1992, Zuyev's second child

728-564: Was a welcome reassurance for Japanese defense planners. On 2 October 1976, the Japanese Government announced that it would ship the aircraft in crates from the port of Hitachi and billed the Soviets US$ 40,000 for crating services and airfield damage at Hakodate. The Soviets responded with a request to return the plane via their own Antonov An-22 aircraft after a rigorous inspection of the crates. The Japanese government refused, and

756-404: Was born but Zuyev gave up parental rights almost immediately after his birth. On January 3, 1993, Zuyev claimed that the reason that Korean Air Lines Flight 007 succeeded in crossing over Kamchatka without being intercepted was because Arctic gales had knocked out the Soviet radars on Kamchatka ten days previously, and the local officials had lied to Moscow that it was fixed, allegedly preventing

784-418: Was incapacitated, so one of the sentries went to the squadron. While he was gone, Zuyev approached the airplane and informed the mechanic on guard duty that his replacement would be late and that Zuyev would fill in. This mechanic, already upset about his relief being late, was happy to hand Zuyev his assault rifle and walk away. The other mechanic found everyone asleep at the squadron, and became suspicious of

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